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- Rich Funke
Senator Rich Funke wants to sink the state’s sales tax break on yachts.
Thanks to the 2015-16 state budget, anyone who buys a yacht or private plane would only pay sales tax on the first $230,000 of the price. Proponents say that the measure will help create jobs.
“I’ve got a tough time swallowing that, to be honest with you,” Funke, a Republican, said during a press conference Monday morning.
Funke has submitted legislation to repeal the tax break. He voted in favor of the 2015-16 budget despite his opposition to the tax break, he said, because it contains critical funding for Monroe County and Ontario County communities.
And the budget does some other good things, too, he said, such as ease the tax burden, and it provides support for young farmers.
Funke said that it doesn’t appear that Governor Andrew Cuomo will veto the tax break, which he’s called on Cuomo to do.
The repeal legislation isn’t about attacking people who have been successful in business, Funke said. Those are people he said he wants to work with to grow jobs and business in New York.
“This is about fairness,” he said. “This is about common sense.”